tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post3789768281436978698..comments2011-05-04T22:56:13.878-07:00Comments on Dr. Newmark's "Other Writers": House of MirthDr. Newmark at NMThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08160226501062742516noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-48903810662536564522011-05-04T22:48:14.601-07:002011-05-04T22:48:14.601-07:00The only person responsible for her predicament is...The only person responsible for her predicament is herself. Regardless of her family influences and gender discrimination, in the end most of her problems are her own fault. She has no ambition, self pride or any attribute that would lead a person to success. We have studied other authors and characters which have been at a disadvantage but still manage to succeed. A perfect example is Estrella. Even though she is marginalized because of her social class and family life she still makes a real attempt at making her life better. Lily makes no attempt to better herself but instead looks for places other than herself to place the blame for her situations. She even has people like Seldon helping her and yet still manages to ruin it.Sean Menkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17816294275152040878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-31067755461029453612011-05-04T20:00:14.690-07:002011-05-04T20:00:14.690-07:00It is hard to place what is chiefly responsible fo...It is hard to place what is chiefly responsible for Lily&#39;s predicament. There are many factors which need to be taken into consideration: the society that she was raised in, the fact that her father became financially ruined, how her mother tried to mold Lily into a &quot;tool&quot; that she could use to get back into money, and the pour decisions that Lily herself makes. All of these examples could lead to Lily&#39;s predicament, thought from these reasons Lily herself only has control over one(her actions).Jedediah Tratechaudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08354902488021044481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-33118693956982929662011-05-04T19:57:29.775-07:002011-05-04T19:57:29.775-07:00Lily is faced with wanting to be accpeted by a soc...Lily is faced with wanting to be accpeted by a social class she does not belong to. She does not have the money to do so. She is stuck however because it was ingrained in her by her mother that to be successful in life she needed money and wealth. Lily hates dinginess and she feels her life is indeed dingy. We Can see that she would be more content if she found work and was able to express herself creatively.tpayton2010https://www.blogger.com/profile/00421833196714942045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-86782747142709587592011-05-04T19:48:00.690-07:002011-05-04T19:48:00.690-07:00Lily&#39;s major problem is herself. She displays ...Lily&#39;s major problem is herself. She displays little self-control over her actions and is unable to move past her ideas about society that were ingrained into her by her mother and upbringing. Her life is an indictment of the society that she is living in, the upper class New York lifestyle that prizes money and power above everything.Thomas Coppihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15989628188887446849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-42247333987522920962011-05-04T15:48:07.384-07:002011-05-04T15:48:07.384-07:00Lily and her mother are the source of Lily&#39;s p...Lily and her mother are the source of Lily&#39;s problems. Her mother&#39;s thoughts were drilled into Lily when she was a child, so that they now influence her current decisions. So instead of doing what she (Lily) really wants, she does what her mother taught her, which ends up getting Lily into weird situations. Although Lily is aware that her mother still dictates her decision, she does nothing to overcome them.blainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08148862335660155233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-21637223020857149312011-05-04T14:24:32.166-07:002011-05-04T14:24:32.166-07:00Lily has been given a twisted vision of success by...Lily has been given a twisted vision of success by her mother. In this vision of success, there is a specific place for her; as the wife of a rich, socially accepted man. Unfortunately, she makes some bad choices, like her smoking and gambling, which cause her to miss out on some opportunities. However, if it wasn&#39;t for the twisted vision of success, imparted to her by her mother, she might have found happiness with Sheldon, or like his aunt, with her own place.David Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06555803711476639488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-57912683435358818302011-05-04T11:11:36.453-07:002011-05-04T11:11:36.453-07:00Lily is a problematic character, is seem that she ...Lily is a problematic character, is seem that she both making bad choices as well as society is out to get her. Her gambling problem is her choice but her class discrimination is due to society. Wharton is saying that society will be a ruthless in knocking people down no matter the position they are in. Lily is a newly high class try to live as they do and fall back to the middle class. But is the story, Wharton is trying to prove that even a high class member is a subject to the law of &quot;bad luck&quot; too.dustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03712681670474383726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-29507341867736937612011-04-25T10:19:38.106-07:002011-04-25T10:19:38.106-07:00I believe that problems stem from the expectations...I believe that problems stem from the expectations of women at the time. The House of Mirth was written in 1905, women suffrage was finally achieved in the United States in 1920. How is this relevant you may ask? It clearly show the social frame of mind of the time period: women opinions were not generally wanted or asked for. As far as men saw them they were baby factories and personal nannies, the women were in charge of the upkeep of the children and home... not much more. So as far as Lilly is concerned, a husband-less women, this leaves her with little choice but to seek out a husband and try to keep herself entertained at the same time. While society may have imposed a gender role upon Lilly, the rest of her tragedies seem to stem from her own doing. Her rejection of suitors for reasons such as not being wealthy or cultured enough, traits that honestly don&#39;t make happiness, showed her struggling to find that something she seemed to be waiting for but never was able to define it for herself. Unlike Kanayo, I do not think women were looking for true happiness, just enough happiness to be satisfied; a satisfaction that Lilly never able to find.Aloshahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00366245241508735613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-10930624739782874292011-04-18T11:17:55.518-07:002011-04-18T11:17:55.518-07:00Lily Bart wants to be viewed as someone who is suc...Lily Bart wants to be viewed as someone who is successful. Unfortunately, in lily’s time, success meant marriage to a wealthy man or inheriting wealth. Lily feels with her beauty she has earned the rights to be successful. Since her parents didn’t bequeath any wealth to her, she figures her only way out of “dinginess,” is marriage to wealth. So she sets out to look for a wealthy man to marry. Strangely, each time she gets close to sealing the deal, she finds a reason to doubt if material possession would lead to true happiness. Wharton is running a commentary on the dilemma women of the early 20th century faced in finding true happinessKanayohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01034950450233324389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-82102071260020219182011-04-05T18:10:46.321-07:002011-04-05T18:10:46.321-07:00After reading half of the novel, I found myself bl...After reading half of the novel, I found myself blaming Lily for most all of her problems. However, I also found it apparent that had Lily been born of either a different class or gender the problems she faced could have been solved more easily. Although things may have panned out differently had these variables been different, I still believe Lily could have handled many of the presented situations better. For example, at the train station Lily lies to Rosedale about what she was doing in Benedick. After Lily lies about her day, she realizes it was wrong and may have caused more problems for her; this, however, does not change what she did.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920384454488550867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-16218613702732701382011-04-03T12:32:19.769-07:002011-04-03T12:32:19.769-07:00The central problem lily faces is the reconciliati...The central problem lily faces is the reconciliation/homogenization of herself with the society around her. Therefore, her central problem is the way in which she decides to operate and convey herself in society. She is constantly at odds with society&#39;s image of the &quot;intended woman&quot; causing her to reject the notions which society puts forth, thereby alienating her from her culture&#39;s inhabitants. The dichotomy and inherently the overwhelming struggle which exists throughout the novel, is her want to try and validate herself through the very same people whose ideologies she rejects. This dilemma is what causes her to lead and end an unfulfilled and unhappy life.Cristianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13122334556753080624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-58611327069316510542011-03-31T20:56:37.705-07:002011-03-31T20:56:37.705-07:00It can be suggested that Lily is stuck in her curr...It can be suggested that Lily is stuck in her current predicament both because of her actions and the standards of the society around her. Lily does her best to jeopardize every chance she gets at personal stability, always assuming she can do better or reach a greater potential. However, if she was not made to live in a society which forced to her to subscribe to such strict standards, it is questionable whether or not she would even desire to attain these standards and greater chances at “happiness.” The biggest dilemma Lily faces is inability to overcome desires that are, ultimately, completely unattainable for her. She wants a dramatic romance, lots of friends, lots of money, and lots of power. However, being “new money” in an old money society makes Lily’s life tumultuous and second rate at best. She constantly struggles to catch up because those around her will never let her get ahead. I think Wharton is making a statement about knowing one’s place in society. If a person isn’t capable of changing that place, then they must learn to accept it or forever be doomed to never catch up.angelicaperry60https://www.blogger.com/profile/09607093051288139048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-52407281060395212612011-03-30T22:04:45.312-07:002011-03-30T22:04:45.312-07:00The person that is responsible for Lily’s predicam...The person that is responsible for Lily’s predicaments is Lily. However, there are many outside influences that affect Lily and her decision making abilities. The society and culture that Lily aspires to maintain a part of directly influences Lily’s decision making. If a person is a product of their parents then Lily’s parents influence her character. Then you could look at Lily’s aunt Peniston. Peniston has control over Lily by the money that she gives to Lily. Although there are many influences only one person can act for Lily, and that is Lily. The main problem that Lily faces is money and lack thereof. Wharton might have been trying to show the inner workings of the upper-class. Wharton might be making a statement of the power dynamics for the upper class women.Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10035923658608659210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-16526858573428181222011-03-30T21:59:32.495-07:002011-03-30T21:59:32.495-07:00During the time in which Lily was raised, women di...During the time in which Lily was raised, women didn’t really have a lot of options for life goals. Lily was brought up to think and look a certain way. Her parents are partly responsible for molding Lily habits of needing, or at least to appearing, to be wealthy and to be sociable. However, Lily is chiefly responsible for her current predicaments. You could blame it on luck, but Lily is smart enough to know what she is doing. If you don’t have a lot of money, you probably don’t want to gamble even if it is the social thing to do. She made choices, granted they could’ve had favorable outcomes with better luck, and she must have known what the consequences could be, but it seemed that she choose to not consider bad chance at the time. <br />Also the society in which she is part of pushed Lily into things. If she didn’t feel pressured to keep up appearances, she may not have been in debt from buying a lot of expensive clothes and by gambling. Again she could choose to do something different like working or taking the plunge for a wealthy marriage, but those options were not appealing to her at all. The upper crust may be appealing from the outside, but the inside looks pretty nasty. There seems to be nobody whom Lily can completely trust and bond with without something bad happening. Women in this story can be particularly nasty. If Lily was around those people less, it would probably do wonders for her well being, but she have to learn and except living less expensively and work.riobonitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17460114312362057051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-6513996836878633102011-03-29T11:32:50.820-07:002011-03-29T11:32:50.820-07:00Lily puts herself in many unnecessary positions by...Lily puts herself in many unnecessary positions by her own poor decision making. What guides Lily&#39;s decision making is dictated by the lifestyle she wishes to be a part of. Lily tries to be part of a lifestyle/class that she can&#39;t afford, Wharton highlights that fact over and over again setting Lily up to be the victim. One could infer that Wharton wishes to make women of her time out to be victims of social norms.Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05473893972283183539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-62154882800185831552011-03-28T20:36:49.220-07:002011-03-28T20:36:49.220-07:00After reading half of the novel thus far, my opini...After reading half of the novel thus far, my opinion of what is at fault for Lily&#39;s predicament is primarily her class/financial status. If it were not for the societal norms that push Lily to buy expensive things and gamble her money away, she might not be in such dire financial, and emotional, situations. The central problem that Lily faces is that she is trying to fit into a niche that she does not have the resources to maintain; if she were realistic about her money and her status, the decisions she makes might not be so detrimental to herself and others. I believe Wharton is making a commentary on not only the fickle nature of the upper class, but a statement directed at one&#39;s &quot;place&quot; and how it is dangerous to try to fit somewhere that you can&#39;t stay, be it a social status, or personal relationship.Adelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16743887733878317698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37908515092567291.post-91799682749116218362011-03-26T16:50:25.818-07:002011-03-26T16:50:25.818-07:00I would argue that her predicaments are due to her...I would argue that her predicaments are due to her gender. More specifically, the role of women as defined by society of the day. Although this is the post-Civil War era where very drastic changes in social equality were beginning to occur, it was still a time where women were still expected to serve what Charlotte Perkins Gilman terms &quot;sex function.&quot; In other words, women are bred to be wives and mothers, but nothing more. Lily is a perfect example of this. She is economically dependent on others, with no marketable skill or any means of supporting herself. She spends most of her time looking for a mate, and tragically, is left with few options. For every suitor, there is always <i>something</i>. They&#39;re not rich enough, or they&#39;re not cultured enough, or they&#39;re just simply a scumbag. Maybe this lack of options for women is what Wharton is trying to express? How are women of this time supposed to be happy when their only future is marriage, but all the good guys are taken?Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10261620505713400714noreply@blogger.com